It's a Sandwich in a Can!

I just stumbled upon a piece of preparedness gold! In this month's Utah Business Magazine there is an article about the Utah based company, Mark One Foods. The company sells the Candwich; a sandwich in a can! The company's website says, "the Candwich has a long shelf life that is perfect for emergency food storage needs in the event of natural disasters." In other words the Candwich will make a perfect addition to your 72-hour kit. Thank you Utah for again showing me the goodness of being prepared! Canned PBJ here I come!

A Safe Cook is a Happy Cook!



Bobby Flay's Pumpkin Pie



This Thanksgiving, I am going to be baking pie after pie after pie. As an aspiring chef or maybe just a Food Network junkie I have been gathering recipes and doing some pre-Holiday research. Research that includes baking, testing, and tasting; starting with a pumpkin cheesecake I made this weekend with every intention of giving away. I caved in and decided I needed to make sure it tasted good before giving as a gift. I'm not sure why I thought it would taste bad what with all the cream cheese, sour cream, butter and graham crackers. It was delicious and I highly recommend it as an addition to your Holiday feast. Click here for Paula Deen's recipe. 

My research will continue this week as I decide which recipe/concotion to bring to my family's Thanksgiving dinner. Next on the agenda is Bobby Flay's Pumpkin Pie with cinnamon crunch and bourbon maple whipped cream. This recipe will put my baking skills to the test, but if you are familiar with Bobby Flay and his show on the Food Network called Throwdown, you know that this recipe is a winner. If you care to try it out, click here.

While I will not be cooking the turkey this year, I have been reading about and watching all the ways to cook your bird. Paula Deen reccomends frying it; Alton Brown says to roast it, and Anne Burrell brines her turkey.

Which ever way you decide to cook your turkey this year and whatever pie you decide to bake, the American Red Cross wants you to stay safe in the kitchen. Thanksgiving is the peak day for home fires; 90% of those fires are caused by unattended cooking. So stay in the kitchen, avoid loose fitted clothing, and keep kids away from the stove and oven. For more tips for safe cooking click here.

Happy cooking!

Youth Council Raises $4,000 for the Measles Initiative

Yesterday the American Red Cross Youth Council concluded their fundraising efforts for the Measles Initiative. The Youth Council learned about the Measles Initiative and the combined efforts of the Red Cross, the CDC, UNICEF, UN, and WHO. They knew they had to help children all over the world dying from this preventable disease. The youth volunteers sold pins for $1 each to their friends, family, and classmates. For each pin purchased, a child in a developing country will be vaccinated for measles. Measles is a terrible illness that kills an estimated 450 people each day.

Over the past two weeks Youth Council members have been selling pins like crazy! About $4,000 pins were sold which means that many young children will have the chance to live another day and receive such an important vaccination.

The youth members had a great time counting money last night and celebrated their success with ice cream sundaes. Check out these photos from their celebration last night!

Holiday Time Already??

This weekend at the Gateway, store fronts had been decorated with Christmas trees, and red and green were prominent colors in every window. Holiday music was playing over the loud speakers, and holiday sales were posted on big signs to draw consumers in. It's hard not to get sucked in to the gift buying/gift giving that is the Holiday season. Pretty sweaters draw you to their cashmere softness. Fifty percent off is just too hard to say no to. And the smell of fresh pine, mixed with "Jingle Bell Rock" makes using that plastic card on shirts, shoes, and holiday trinkets easy as pumpkin pie.

However, as I walked the streets looking in every window, seeing men, women and children walk out with their arms full of bags, I decided to make myself a little promise. (I'm always making promises on this blog, promises to update my 72-hour kit, to make sure I change the batteries in my smoke alarm, etc. And so far I have held my word!) I have been working with the Development team a lot lately with our upcoming Heroes event (more info to come!) last month's Gala in Ogden, and more recently the Holiday Giving Campaign.

With the Red Cross Holiday Giving Campaign, your gifts this Holiday can take the form of many things to support the mission of the Red Cross. For example for $50 you can purchase a full day of emergency shelter for a victim of a disaster in the name of a family member, friend, or loved one. Or for $18 you can purchase 3 blankets to keep disaster victims warm in the middle of the night. Or for $30 you can provide water containers for 6 families in International Disasters.

So next time you brave the winter weather to take a Holiday shopping excursion, keep in mind that while sweaters go out of style and wreathes wither, blankets and water for disaster victims, can go a long way.

Use your Extra Hour to Prepare!!

This weekend we will mysteriously go back in time... That's right the weird phenomenon of Daylight Savings, practiced in every state but Arizona and Hawaii, occurs this Sunday morning. How will you use your extra hour? Will you sleep the hour away? Will you finally have time to clean house? Or will you take that hour and prepare?

The Red Cross recommends that you take this time to update your 72-hour kit. Check the food in your kit, is it about to expire? Does it look a little sketchy? Do the batteries in your flashlight still work? Do you have all important documents and some extra cash? Use your extra hour to check. Here's a list of items we recommend you have.

And while you're at it, check the batteries in your smoke alarms and make sure there is one on every floor of your house and in every bedroom. If you decide to replace your smoke alarms all together, make sure you don't put the old ones in your attic like Phil Dunphy did on Modern Family last night. Because when you hear that chirp, not only is it highly annoying, it also means you could be in danger if there is a fire in your house. For more preparedness tips check out www.utahredcross.org/prepare

Happy Halloween from the GSLAC Gremlins!

Happy Halloween from the Gremlins at the Greater Salt Lake Area Chapter. We had a great time dressing up for the holiday. Check out our photos from today!


And don't forget to be safe and prepared this Holiday weekend with our Lucky 13 preparedness tips.

And check out our Halloween Reminder Video. Put together your own 72-hour kit, or update your current one.  Happy Haunting my friends!!

Getting in the Halloween Spirit!

 Our friends at the Portland Red Cross asked, "What does your desk say about you?" Well to get into the Halloween Spirit we here at the Greater Salt Lake Area Chapter have issued a desk decorating contest. While I just have this Dilbert-esque cubicle, I still decided to go all out. So I hit up my mom's "leftover" Halloween decorations and went to Smith's for some last minute essentials, like the sweet spiderweb I attached to my shelf.

Above is the final product...spooky, I know! So as you begin or continue, your Halloween preparations, don't forget to follow these Lucky 13 safety tips! Whether you're out there trick or treating, or simply decorating your office space, have fun and Be Safe.

Oh and don't forget to leave room, like I did, (see photo below) so you can still Drop, Cover, and Hold On!

So what's the deal with these new CPR guidelines anyway?

As I'm sure some of you have heard, the American Heart Association released new CPR guidelines which includes information on compression only CPR. The experts at the American Red Cross are reviewing these guidelines before making an official stance regarding the updates.

This should remind all of us to get trained. You never know when an emergency might happen and if you know the skills, you have the opportunity to save lives; just like the lifeguard at Seven Peaks and my uncle!

So wait to hear what the Red Cross has to say about these guidelines and in the meantime, get trained, and be informed!

Holiday Mail for Heroes

Utah Senator Bob Bennett spent part of a September day signing cards for soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait as part of the Holiday Mail for Heroes program.

The Holiday Mail for Heroes program is led by the Red Cross and Pitney Bowes Inc., providing Americans with the opportunity to extend holiday greetings, expressions of gratitude and well wishes to service members, veterans and their families worldwide. Now in its fourth year, more than three million cards have been distributed during the first three years of the campaign.

Any member of the general public can be part of the Holiday Mail for Heroes program and send greeting cards from now until December 10 to: Holiday Mail for Heroes, P.O. Box 5456, Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456. The cards will be distributed to members of the United States Armed Forces and veterans during the 2010 holiday season.

Holiday Mail for Heroes began in December 2007, when Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. approached the American Red Cross to assist in distributing thousands of holiday cards to hospitalized servicemen and women. In response to this request, the Red Cross partnered with Pitney Bowes to turn the project into a larger opportunity that could reach members of the military at other medical facilities in this country and abroad.

The Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are encouraging families, schools, youth, civic groups, scouting troops, places of worship, and other groups that are interested in participating in the Holiday Mail for Heroes program to organize and host card-making events. For a list of tips and ideas, please visit: www.redcross.org/holidaymail  


Check out Video of Senator Bennett signing cards with the Red Cross






Emergency Supplies

Do you have everything you need in case of an emergency? This guy seems to have the correct supplies. But is he missing anything?

Share Your Impact

What's your Impact? This Sunday is 10-10-10. While many people will probably be marking this day by getting married, the Red Cross has a different idea about how to celebrate the occasion. Check out the One Day on Earth website to find out how you can share your Red Cross story with the world. Below are the guidelines for defining and sharing your impact. Let the creativity commence!

Guidelines

1. Identify a word or two that is a description of how you define your impact within the Red Cross. For example: Blood, Support, Relief, etc. Be creative!

2. Write your impact word on a sign that you can hold while being filmed.

3. Find a unique location that you have impacted and tell us your name and Impact word on video while holding the sign towards camera.

4. Increase your impact by taking things further. Use the day to document, with video, how you support the Red Cross: giving blood, volunteering, working on the front lines. Show us your daily impact with the Red Cross, so that we can showcase it to the world.

5. When you upload your video please be sure to tag it to the "American Red Cross".



CPR Saves Lives!

Why is CPR so important you may ask? Well for starters it could save your life, or the life of someone you love.

Take Kathy Ryan for example. Kathy is a runner who collapsed during Oregon state’s most famous relay race, Hood to Coast. Below is a clip from an upcoming documentary that shows how CPR saved Kathy's life.


Hood To Coast Movie - American Red Cross CPR from HoodToCoastMovie on Vimeo.
The documentary Hood To Coast is proud to partner with the American Red Cross.

To take a CPR class check out our website or call 801-323-7038

Become a Certified Red Cross Babysitter

Are you in the immediate family of a Service Member? If so the American Red Cross of Utah has a great scholarship opportunity for you!

Every month the Red Cross offers a Babysitting Bootcamp in which youth ages 11-13 receive Red Cross certifications in Babysitter’s Training, Infant/Child CPR, First Aid and Dog and Cat First Aid. The course takes place over three days with lunch and snacks provided. Participants will receive a Babysitting Boot Camp T-shirt, a Babysitting Essentials Toolkit, and a Babysitter’s Training Handbook complete with an Emergency Reference Guide and CD-Rom.

Half price scholarships are available for those youth in the immediate family of a Service Member. The next Babysitting Bootcamp is December 27-29. Call Heather McKinnon at (801) 323-7010 for more information.

**Additional scholarships are available.

Autumn is Here!

Celebrate by Attending the First Annual Autumn Gourmet Gala

Even though the recent weather has been perfect, sunny, and warm, last night I noticed that by 7pm the sun was already setting. Which means in a few weeks when we set our clocks back an hour (and update our smoke alarm batteries and 72-hour kits) the sun will be setting around 6pm!

Although I'm not too keen on the idea of less light in the day, I am looking forward to the Autumnal goodness that is cozy sweaters and jackets, blankets, mittens and the changing of the colors; as in this great video that the national Red Cross blog shared:



With the arrival of Autumn comes the first annual American Red Cross Gourmet Gala at Snowbasin Ski Resort.

Northern Utah’s chefs and restaurants are preparing their finest dishes to benefit the American Red Cross of Utah on October 7, 2010 for the first annual Autumn Gourmet Gala at Snowbasin Ski Resort. It's going to be a fun, chic event in which restaurants from across the state will be preparing food for every palate. The Gala will include a silent auction featuring dining experiences, travel, jewelry and other specialty items donated by participating restaurants and businesses.

For more information about the event and to purchase your ticket click here.

Masters of Disaster Program Launch!

Utah Students Get Prepared for Disasters in New Pilot Program
In the wake of the Herriman fire evacuations, preparedness is on the minds of many Utahns and a new pilot program in twenty schools in the Salt Lake Valley offers one new way to help get students prepared for disasters. Thanks to the American Red Cross and Be Ready Utah, teachers will be using the American Red Cross Masters of Disaster® kit.

Check out pictures from the Masters of Disaster Pilot Kick-Off  held at Channing Hall School in Draper this morning.
For more information about the American Red Cross Masters of Disaster® kit check out our website.

Preparedness Month Tips

To me, being prepared for any type of emergency, whether it's a fire, flood, or evacuation, starts with getting a 72-hour kit. At the Red Cross store online you can buy all sorts of tools and supplies for your 72-hour kit; including radios, water storage, lights, and first aids kits.

For those of us on a budget, I want to introduce you to the Family Dollar.  When I was in there the other day getting stuff for a bachelorette party I was throwing for my sister, I was amazed at how many items they had that are essential to have in your 72-hour kit.

If you want my recommendation for a cheap way to put together an all encompassing 72-hour kit here it is: Order the Deluxe Personal Safety Kit from the Red Cross online store. This kit comes with a bag that can be used as a back pack. Once your kit comes in the mail; head down to Family Dollar to add other essentials. I recommend putting in extra batteries, advil, deodorant and toothbrush, as well as a deck of cards or a book to keep you from being bored. Do you have kids? Throw in a coloring book and crayons. And as winter is approaching, pick up a hat and a pair of gloves. Family Dollar also has great deals on granola bars and other non-perishable foods to add in there as well.

Given the recent fire in Herriman, at the Salt Lake County Emergency Preparedness Fair this weekend, I had many people ask about what to take when you have to evacuate. While bringing your 72-hour kit is a great recommendation, other supplies could be more important for an evacuation.

The items in your 72-hour kit are meant to serve as all the supplies you would need to survive for three days in case a large disaster were to prevent the Red Cross, the National Guard, FEMA, etc from getting to everyone in a timely manner. For evacuations, my recommendation is to have copies of important documents like your driver's liscene, insurance cards, home ownership paperwork, etc. Grabbing any photos or family heirlooms is also a great idea however, getting yourself and your family members out of the house is most important.

The Herriman Fire Reminds Us to Be Prepared

Jana Sweeny, Disaster Officer for the American Red Cross, spent time in the Red Cross shelter for residents of Herriman who had to evacuate. Here is her story of one family who took the necessary precautions to be prepared. What would you bring in the event of an evacuation? Are you prepared?

Monday morning haze hung over Herriman High School as people wandered around the American Red Cross shelter located there. Some were waking up from sleep, some stayed awake all night waiting for news. Most people were in the cafeteria getting breakfast for their children and a snack or cup of coffee for themselves. Like many people do when hearing about this type of disaster, I began thinking about what I would take from my home if I only had 10 or 20 minutes to get out. I have my disaster kit ready to go and keep important documents in a fire-proof lockbox. I also keep a list of things I want to remember to grab- work boots, change of clothes, prescriptions for my family and my pets. I started talking to people about this. What did they grab? What do they wish they had grabbed? Most answers were similar- computers, paperwork, and family photos. Many people talked about having to leave precious family mementos behind. Antique furniture made by relatives, artwork, and other treasures that could never be replaced.

During this string of conversations I started talking to Chris Streicher who recently moved into his Herriman home with his new bride Angela and his teenage son. As we began to talk I realized that his story of evacuation was much different. Chris and Angela care for three aging family members in their home. Chris’s mother who is in her 70’s and Angela’s aunt and uncle who are in their 80’s live with the couple. They bought their home in Herriman because it had the space to accommodate the needs of these very special

family members. They were able to add handicap accessible fittings to bathrooms and stairwells to make sure that all three, who use assistive devices including wheel chairs and walkers, could comfortably access their whole home.

When the notice came from police that they had 20 minutes to get out the first thought was, what do they need to bring for their elderly family members. Chris loaded the wheel chairs and walkers, while Angela packed the bags. They made sure to grab everyone’s medication and then they piled in the car and headed to Herriman High School. On arrival Chris immediately notified the Red Cross nurses of the condition of his family. He asked that they be looked at by a medical profession to ensure that the high level of smoke hadn’t caused any breathing problems. After they were checked out Chris made the difficult decision to split the family up. He realized quickly that his mother and Angela’s aunt and uncle would be more comfortable in a hotel. He made arrangements and dropped Angela off with the older members of the family. He and his son returned to the shelter for the night knowing that it would probably be the best place to quickly receive updates on the situation.

Taking into account the needs of vulnerable family members is key to smart disaster planning. Chris had great suggestions for elderly family members. Ensure that you have assistive devices that will help them continue to feel some level of independence, not only wheel chairs, but walkers or canes. Make sure to grab all medication. Remember that elderly family members often feel security in certain items such as their purse or wallet. Be sure to grab those things as well. As Chris said “you can always run to the WalMart for new socks, but some things are harder or will take longer to replace.” He also recommended making sure that all of your family members are informed about what is happening. As any of us with aging relatives know, change in routine is often hard. Even though he had little time, he quickly explained to them what was happening and then took more time in the safety of the shelter to talk through the decision with this family. Additionally, make sure to inform shelter staff at check in of any potential medical needs of your family. Finally, ask for help if you need it. Chris asked members of the police department who were patrolling the neighborhood to assist him in getting everyone and everything loaded into the car. Recognizing that it would take the Streicher family longer than families who were all able bodied, they were more than happy to help.

Chris and Angela did everything right. They made good and informed choices for their family and were able to react quickly because they had taken time to think through potential scenarios and plan for them ahead of time. To ensure your family is prepared like the Streichers are, visit the Red Cross website.

Herriman Fire Photos

A few photos taken by volunteer James Fair from the Red Cross shelter at Herriman High School. Thank you to James and all the volunteers helping in Herriman.

Volunteer Holly Andrews with a client at the Red Cross shelter



Lunch room of the Red Cross shelter at Herriman High School

Red Cross shelter update in Herriman

About 80 people spent last night at the Red Cross shelter at Herriman High School. Red Cross volunteers are on hand to provide medical attention, trauma counseling and emotional support. We will keep updating our Twitter @utahredcross with information.

For inquires about friends and loved ones in Herriman click here or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.

To make a donation to the relief efforts click here.

9:00 p.m. The American Red Cross has 50 people affected by the Herriman area fire evacuation at the Red Cross shelter (moving from the Ft. Herriman Middle School to the Herriman High School at this hour.)
The American Red Cross has cots for 100, water, snacks, and more than a dozen Red Cross volunteers helping on the scene with sheltering needs for the night if needed. The Red Cross is prepared to open additional shelters for up to 1900 people IF needed.